Opinion - Access to Information Crucial for Monitoring Government Projects


By Zibusiso Dube

ONE of the major impediments to the success of government projects in Zimbabwe is lack of adequate access to information. Lack of information is also responsible for poor service delivery and rampant corruption in the country. Unless it is realised that information availability is an important component of ensuring transparency and accountability in the operations of holders of public office and government institutions, the people of Zimbabwe will continue receiving sub-standard services from the government and local authorities while development projects will continue failing to achieve the desired goals. It is high time efforts are made to ensure that dissemination of information becomes part and parcel of the operations of public bodies, local authorities and government departments as part of the broader goal of improving provision of public services,  improving the success rate of public projects and dealing with corruption in public institutions.

As a starting point, it would be useful for Zimbabweans to realise that the discourse on access to information should not be limited to the media and the operations of journalists as is currently happening. Of course journalists should have access to public information so that they can disseminate it to the benefit of the larger populace, however, access to information should be recognised as a right that should be afforded to all residents. It is everyone’s right to access information, because information is an empowerment tool that enables a person to be better equipped to deal with his day to day life, and in the parlance of democratic discourse, make informed political choices that have a bearing on his/her livelihood. For instance residents in a community should have access to the budgets of the local authority so that they can monitor the conduct of the authority and ensure that enough funds are set aside for service provision that meets the socio-economic rights of residents. Also, residents in a community should have access to information on government projects that are operational in their area. This would enable them, in their localities, to monitor the progress and implementation of such projects to ensure that the projects are benefitting the intended beneficiaries and also to ensure that there is no corruption in the implementation of the projects.
     
The negative effects of lack of adequate access to information in Zimbabwe abound. According to Transparency International, Zimbabwe ranked 154 out of 182 countries in a survey on corruption in 2011. This means that corruption is a big problem in the country. Also, many government projects, including Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and more recently the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Programme (HSCTP) are dogged by controversy with citizens alleging corruption in their operations. For instance, it is argued that BEAM, which is a programme that is meant to benefit orphans and vulnerable children by paying their tuition is also benefitting the children of teachers and other connected people while many orphans and children from poor families fail to attend school. While these allegations may sometimes border on conspiracy due to the unavailability of evidence, what is clear is that efforts should be made to improve accountability and transparency in government and local authority projects. Ensuring adequate access to information to residents is the way to do so. Improving residents’ access to information is also a key way to deal with corruption.

So how can Zimbabwe improve access to information? The answer lies in the law. The only tool that the government has at its disposal to ensure that public bodies, government departments and local governments afford residents access to information is the law. Through the law, the government can ensure that institutions behave in a manner that will promote transparency and accountability – actively providing residents with information. But the problem that the country faces is that the government has historically been reluctant to provide Zimbabweans with information. Instead of affording residents access to information, the government has established draconian laws that inhibit access to information. These laws include the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the inappropriately named Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). The government’s reasoning is not hard to follow. Access to information empowers people at the grassroots level and is therefore thought to reduce the power hold of the government. But this is a myth. Affording people access to information, in the process empowering them does not weaken the government. It instead enhances the development process by empowering people to make informed choices and by increasing accountability and transparency in the operations of public officials thus putting a lead on corruption. In any case, how does availing information such as council budgets, the state budget, information on government projects, registers of listed companies in an area or cadastres constitute a risk to the primacy of the state?

This is an opportune moment in Zimbabwe’s history, as the country is in a political transition, to begin a process of ensuring that residents in all localities are actively afforded access to information on critical issues affecting their lives. Access to information should become a major point of discussion in the current body politic in the same manner that the issues of devolution of power and de-politicisation of the security forces have been. The concessionary environment characterising political discourses at the moment creates an opportunity for advocates of access to information to put the topic on the national agenda. And the kind of access to information advocated for in this article is not at odds with the ideologies of any sober minded Zimbabweans. Unless of course if political struggles in the country are not decided on democratic principles but on hoodwinking the masses, using among other tools the ignorance of citizens.

Zibusiso Dube is the Information Manager at Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA). He writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on dubezibusiso@gmail.com

Press Release - Decentralization of State Procurement Board Long Overdue




Date:               29 August 2012
Contact:         Emmanuel Ndlovu
                        Programmes and Advocacy Manager
                        Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)


BULAWAYO Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) believes that immediate steps should be taken to decentralize the State Procurement Board (SPB) to other regions in the country as part of a broader effort to promote equity in development among the country’s regions. This follows recommendations by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion recently that the SPB should be overhauled due to among other things corruption in awarding of tenders.

Currently, state entities flight tenders through the SPB which is based in Harare, something which the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion is arguing favours contractors resident in Harare. Tenders are also advertised in newspapers with wider circulation in the capital and therefore not readily accessible to contractors in other parts of the country, while contractors from outside are also disadvantaged in that they have to travel to Harare to bid for tenders. In addition to this, BPRA believes the centralization of state procurement procedures is partly responsible for the exodus of companies to the capital which has led to high levels of unemployment in the city.

BPRA thus concurs with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion that the SPB should be decentralized to other regions in the country as this would lead to a fairer distribution of opportunities to contractors ultimately leading to more equitable development among the regions. It is BPRA’s belief that one of the reasons why peripheral regions such as Matabeleland, Masvingo, Manicaland and the Midlands lag in terms of development is due to the fact that most of the country’s economic and political activities are centralized in Harare, hence benefiting mostly people from the capital. This is why the association is an advocate of devolution of power, which is one of the ways of ensuring that all regions in the country assume control of their resources and take control of development issues in their areas, which would guarantee that all regions develop equitably.

Last year BPRA played a fundamental role in derailing attempts to centralize procurement procedures for local authorities to Harare through the General Laws Amendment Bill (2010). The bill sought to among other things amend the Procurement Act by abolishing Local Procurement Boards and centralizing the procurement procedures of all local authorities in the country to the SPB. What BPRA feared would happen if that move were to go ahead – corruption and marginalization of other regions - has manifested itself in the operations of the SPB. The association is therefore calling for the decentralization of the SPB to ensure that contractors in all regions have an equal chance of bidding for and winning tenders.  

Regards

................................................
Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu
Programmes and Advocacy Manager

BPRA Commends Min of Labour and Social Services for taking steps to iron out anomalies in the Harmonised Social Cash Transfere Programme (HSCTP)


Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) would like to commend the Ministry of labour and social services for  calling  for an all stakeholders meeting in Bulawayo  to clarify issues of concern to residents about the running of the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) programme.

The all stakeholders meeting was held on Tuesday 21 August 2012 after the BPRA wrote a detailed letter to the Ministry raising serious issues of anomalies in the administration of the HSCT programme. Some of the complaints raised were that the programme had not been adequately publicised to residents and this was causing many fraudsters to take advantage of vulnerable beneficiaries.

The Association also highlighted that the vetting process was questionable as some beneficiaries were people that were known to be well employed and able bodied and yet they were receiving these funds at the expense of vulnerable groups in the communities. Also of concern to BPRA was the proxy system which seemed to allow anyone to collect the money on behalf of the beneficiary without enough checks and balances to avoid fraud.

Furthermore some beneficiaries complained that their money was being extorted from them as ‘handling fees’, which is having the money collected on their behalf and or being put on the beneficiaries list. The matter was also taken to the police to investigate possible criminal conduct by the perpetrators.

At the meeting the  Ministry of labour and Social Services representative Mr Leon Muwoni  called for the arrest and prosecution of anyone corruptly benefiting from the HSCTP. He stated that he was disturbed that there were actually some criminals that had been allowed to walk scot free from police cells simply because they had reimbursed some of their victims the money they had swindled them of. Muwoni said a criminal case should be reopened and urged that if there are still some victims who had not been given back their money, a list of their names must be given to him so that he could personally make follow ups on the issue.

The delegation of  6 officers from the Ministry of Labour and Social Services headquarters  was to ascertain  the background of complaints raised by the BPRA to the ministry . Social Welfare officials acknowledged that lack of proper information dissemination had indeed cause speculation and manipulation of the whole process. In some wards beneficiaries had allegedly been asked to pay 5rands to be considered for the process  as well as $2 membership fees for a local residents association. Some older or disabled beneficiaries were also being asked to pay money for the collection of their benefits by a proxy which Mr Muwoni stated was not allowed as the proxy was supposed to also be a listed beneficiary and only meant to collect the money and deliver it in totality. Clarification was also made on the fact that members of the Child Protection Committees (CPC)s who are the focal point persons for beneficiaries, also receive an allowance for their work and are therefore not supposed to be paid any extra money for coordinating beneficiaries. The wards currently receiving the funds in Bulawayo are wards 8, 14, 18, 19, 27 and 29.

BPRA, would like to continue to encourage open and transparent dialogue between the Ministry and residents to ensure the smooth running of the programme. The association also pledges to continue monitoring how the scheme is being administered in the 6 wards of Bulawayo to guarantee that the money gets to its intended beneficiaries.

Regards 
Information Department
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association
Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196
Cell: +263 772 516 729
Website: www.bprazim.org






Bulawayo residents call for improved water shedding system


Residents Voices

Bulawayo residents have called on the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to run a more efficient water shedding schedule as the programme has so far been inconsistently implemented. The BCC has put in place water shedding as a means of reducing the water consumption rates in the city after poor seasonal rainfall and the decommissioning of Upper Ncema Dam one of the city’s five major supply dams. The schedule was such that residents would go for 48hours per week without water supplies. However some residents have complained that the water does not come back at scheduled times and in other areas the water does not go at all. For some residents when the water comes they have to throw out gallons and gallons of it before clear water starts to run and this results in very high water bills. Residents also noted that a lot of the pressure that comes with resumption of water flow was causing their meters to run even when there would have been no water flowing at that point.

City council officials have also acknowledged that the first schedule of water shedding has not yielded much positive results due to the city’s old pipe system which has led to a lot of pipe bursts and a lot of clean water being lost in the process. They also stated that the pipe bursts and rust is what is causing water to be contaminated when it starts flowing again. Furthermore the officials said they had noted that residents were still using more water than had been hoped possible during water shedding. The council says it is even considering increasing the number of load shedding days to reducing the consumption rate from 110Megaliters (ML) to 90ML per day. Council has urged residents to keep their taps closed until there is water flowing to avoid their meters running without any water flow. They also encouraged residents to keep record of their meter readings so they could use these to query any over charges on their bills.

Given the dire water situation residents are facing as well as the tough task the city fathers have in ensuring that residents save as much water as possible, BPRA shall be sending regular Water Crisis Alerts to keep residents abreast with the water situation in the city until it has improved. The updates will also include information from the all stakeholders meetings being held in the city to deal with the water crisis.

Regards

Information Department

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association

Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196

Cell: +263 772 516 729

Website: www.bprazim.org




Bulawayo residents unite to fight corruption



More than two hundred Bulawayo residents took part in the launch of a civic campaign to stop corruption in the city and the country as a whole. The campaign organised by a host of stakeholders under the Transparency International Zimbabwe (TI-Z) banner was hosted at the Bulawayo Large City Hall on Saturday 4 August and brought together senior citizens, youths, university students, women’s groups amongst others under the theme “Tshiya ubugwelegwele: Thuthukisa uBulawayo" (Fight corruption and help develop Bulawayo).


Giving a key note address at the launch, Reverend (Rev) Ray Motsi, said Bulawayo residents should stand up an work together to stop corruption. “People must work against corruption because it has caused a lot of damage even to our economy” he said. He added that, It is about time people walked the talk and practice what they preach by being actively involved in campaigns that are designed to fight corruption. He further stated that if unchecked corrupt tendencies transformed themselves into bigger human rights issues like the yet unresolved Gukurahundi genocide. He also pointed out to the fact that the economic crisis that Zimbabwe is still yet to recover from is largely caused by corrupt elements in state offices who abuse their power and state resources for personal gain.


Residents complained that corruption had not only affected national development but their day to day lives as well. They complained that the ZESA power cuts and the water cuts could have been avoided if state resources were being transparently used for the benefit of all citizens. They sighted that goods were being smuggled in and out of the country corruptly costing the country millions of revenue,that some police officers preferred to be bribed than to fine motorists with unworthy road vehicles leading to an increase in road carnage. Recently BPRA took an issue up with the police after residents complained that the government run Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Scheme (HSCT), which is meant to cushion residents from economic hardships, has been hijacked by corrupt elements in the township who are short changing residents of these funds.  

Residents have since  pledged to work very closely within BPRA structures and with TIZ and other organisations to fight corruption in their respective communities.

Alert: ‘Soldiers’ Disrupt Census Trainings in Bulawayo


A GROUP claiming to be soldiers today allegedly caused chaos at the Bulawayo Province Census command centre, housed at the Bulawayo Polytechnic ostensibly to prevent the induction of enumerators. The group also reportedly disrupted census training workshops that were taking place at the college. This follows reports of similar occurrences in Harare and Mutare yesterday as soldiers defied a cabinet directive that soldiers will only be used as enumerators in their places of work.

According to sources consisting of teachers and headmasters from Bulawayo Province, the group of over 50 men, who were in plain clothes, prevented would be enumerators from entering the Bulawayo Polytechnic where recruitment and induction of enumerators was taking place and maintained a vigil throughout the day to ensure that the workshops and recruitment did not go ahead. Witnesses told Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) that they were not sure whether the group genuinely consisted of soldiers, but said they felt it was connected to powerful people as the police did not pitch up to disperse the group and allow the training workshops and recruitment to go ahead.

BPRA is concerned that these events are an indication that Zimbabwe is degenerating into an outpost of lawlessness with the relevant authorities looking aside as hooligans impede on national processes. The association calls upon the police and other interested parties to take concerted efforts to ensure that order is restored in the census preparations so that the exercise can continue.  

Regards

Information Department
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association
Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196
Cell: +263 773 788 183
Website: www.bprazim.org


Press Release - BCC and Mpilo Hospital Putting Residents’ Lives at Risk



  
Date:               8 August 2012
Contact:         Emmanuel Ndlovu
                        Programmes and Advocacy Manager
                        Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)



BULAWAYO Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) is concerned that the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and the Mpilo Hospital Management are putting the lives of residents at risk by failing to work hand in hand to ensure that the hospital has clean running water all the time. This follows reports that Mpilo Hospital closed its operating theatre after going for two days without water following a water pipe burst in the Mzilikazi and Barbourfields area. As a result, patients who were meant to undergo surgery were rescheduled to next week, with charges for continued stay at the hospital also billed on them, something that BPRA sees as unfair to the patients.

BPRA believes that this occurrence is a result of neglect of duty by both BCC and Mpilo Hospital. The association is dismayed that a health institution as big as Mpilo Hospital can go for two days without water with management not taking any measures to solve the problem. The association is equally appalled that a hospital can go for two days without water with BCC not making concerted efforts to correct the problem. BPRA asserts that the argument by the local authority that the fault was not reported on time is neither here nor there as the two institutions, BCC and Mpilo should have entered into a  partnership long ago to ensure that there is always running water at the hospital, and a back-up plan in the event of an emergency. With such an agreement, modalities would have been put in place to ensure that water disruptions at the institution are reported timely and corrective measures taken expediently. Such an agreement would be beneficial to both institutions as Mpilo needs water to function properly while BCC is mandated by the law to provide clean water services in Bulawayo.
I
t is also BPRA’s contention that BCC and other service providers such as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) should have partnerships or arrangements with critical institutions such as hospitals that cannot function effectively without their services. Such partnerships would be key to ensuring that normal operations at critical institutions are never disrupted as this sometimes means loss of life. As things stand, there is a possibility that a life that could have been saved by surgery will ultimately be lost due to the postponement of the surgery following temporary closure of Mpilo Hospital’s theatre.


Regards
................................................
Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu
Programmes and Advocacy Manager

Residents Voices – Issue 78


Residents call for expansion of Social Welfare Programme
RESIDENTS of Bulawayo have called on the government through the Social Welfare Department to expand the reach of the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Programme (HSCTP) to other areas in the city and province as many citizens are wallowing in poverty due to the country’s economic situation. Residents were speaking at two separate community meetings held by Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) in ward 29 (Magwegwe North and West) and ward 19 (Old Pumula) to discuss the HSCTP and its administration. It also emerged at the meeting that residents are generally  unaware of the existence of the HSCTP, save for those who are beneficiaries of the scheme. Residents thus called upon the government to expand the reach of the project, and avail citizens with adequate information on the scheme to ensure transparency and accountability in its operations. Residents at the meetings attributed the problems that have dogged the programme to a lack of proper information dissemination arguing that many residents were ignorant of the existence of the programme and therefore had no idea how it should be administered. They said this lack of information made beneficiaries vulnerable to abuse by corrupt elements in their communities. The HSCTP is a social welfare programme that aims at easing poverty in the country through handouts to food poor and labour constrained families. The HSCTP is still in its pilot phase and currently running in only 6 wards in Bulawayo, namely Mzilikazi/Thorngrove (ward 8), Lobengula (ward 14), Old and New Magwegwe (Ward 18), Old Pumula (ward 19), Pumula South (ward 27), and Magwegwe North/West (ward 29). Already, residents of ward 18 have alleged corruption in the distribution of the funds.

Residents in the Dark on Metering Exercise
Residents are up in arms over the move by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to install electricity pre-paid meters in homes without widely publicising the move to home owners. Last week some residents raised alarm that the parastatal was disconnecting residents with arrears when installing pre-paid meters, now they are irked that ZESA employees are descending on their properties out of the blue ostensibly to install pre-paid meters. A tenant in Queenspark complained that ZESA personnel arrived unannounced at his home and imposed the meter on his house-maid who could not make head or tail of what was happening. He said it should be a ZESA policy to widely inform residents of such exercises before they are implemented so that proper measures are put in place by residents for security reasons. Residents have called upon ZESA to inform residents that they will be installing meters in their areas in advance of their arrivals. BPRA has in the past called upon providers of public services and government departments to disseminate adequate information to citizens in order to ensure transparency and accountability in their operations.

Residents Meet Registry Official over Birth Certificates
RESIDENTS of Pumula South under the auspices of the ward’s Child Protection Committee (CPC) last Wednesday (25 July2012) held a meeting with the Bulawayo Province Assistant Registrar in an effort to find ways to ensure that all children have access to birth certificates. More than 200 residents who are struggling to obtain birth certificates attended the meeting which was held at Pumula South Hall from 10am. It emerged at the meeting that one of the reasons people are failing to obtain birth certificates is lack of information on what is required for one to get the documents, while residents also argued that personnel at the registry’s office are rude, and often fail to communicate with residents in Ndebele, which is the local language in the Matabeleland region. Residents also complained that requirements for obtaining birth certificates were stringent and needed to be addressed to ensure that all Zimbabweans can obtain birth certificates which are imperative for one to access basic rights such as education and recognition as people.

Regards
Information Department
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association
Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196
Cell: +263 773 788 183
Website: www.bprazim.org